Abby Singer

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In his two-hour Archive interview, Abby Singer (1917-2014) talks about his early career as an assistant director in feature films and television shows, including The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Ford Television Theater and The Virginian. He describes what has become known as "the Abby Singer Shot" -- universal code for the penultimate shot of a production day. He recalls his time as a production manager on The Doris Day Show, Gunsmoke, St. Elsewhere, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, The Bob Newhart Show, and Hill Street Blues, among many others. He outlines his transition to becoming a production executive, and explains his responsibilities during a typical work week. Singer speaks of dealing with the varied personalities one finds on set, how he coped with everyone from stars to limousine drivers, and his philosophy of working with people -- which has served him well during his 40+ years in the business. He recounts being honored by his peers in the Directors Guild of America and gives advice to aspiring production managers. Stephen J. Abramson conducted the interview on September 19, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California.

"It is important for a production manager to treat everybody the way he wants to be treated. And never, ever be late on the set. Being on time to me is vital, but treating co-workers the way you want to be treated is one of the most important things in the world and I always have lived by that."

Chapter 1

On his early life and influences; on his experience in World War II; on early assistant directing jobs

12:58

On assistant directing The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin; on assistant directing Ford Television Theater, Wagon Train and various other shows; on "the Abby Singer shot"

17:05

On becoming a production manager and the duties of a production manager; on being production manager for The Virginian and Laramie

13:54

On being production manager for The Doris Day Show; on dealing with crews and budgets and production managers

07:15

Chapter 2

On being production manager on Gunsmoke and St. Elsewhere; on being production manager for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, and The Bob Newhart Show

17:19

On being production manager for The Tony Randall Show, The White Shadow, and Lou Grant; on the responsibilities of a production executive and a typical work week; on being production manager for WKRP in Cincinnati and Newhart

12:09

On being production manager for Hill Street Blues and Bay City Blues; on being production manager for Remington Steele and St. Elsewhere

16:02

On the legacy of MTM and leaving MTM; on being recognized by the DGA; on being production manager for Major Dad and Burke's Law; on his retirement and teaching at AFI

13:41

Chapter 3

On advice to people getting into production management; on his career highlight and regret; on how he'd like to be remembered

06:10

B-roll: Abby Singer shows his DGA award, an Al Hirschfeld sketch of Abby Singer, and a script of "Hellcats of the Navy" signed by Ronald Reagan